Fitted bed cover



July 28, 1964 L. A. sooosofi, JR

FITTED BED COVER Filed June 7. 1962 FIGJ FIG.2

INVENTOR LOUIE A. GOODSON ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,142,072 FITTED BED COVER Louie A. Goodson, J12, Danville, Va., assignor to Dan River Mills, Incorporated Filed June 7, 1962, Ser. No. 200,700 1 Claim. (Cl. 334) This invention relates to a novel fitted mattress covering and, more specifically, relates to a fitted sheet which is easy to apply to a mattress and is capable of closely conforming to the shape of the mattress.

Fitted mattress coverings or sheets are well known and in extensive use in homes, hospitals, and other facili ties. The many advantages of fitted sheets are well known and have placed such sheets in substantial demand. A serious problem, however, arises when putting the fitted sheet on a mattress. Due to the fact that most fitted sheets are constructed to envelop top, side, end, and parts of the bottom portions of the mattress and due to the fact that mattresses generally are bulky, stiff, and hard for the average housewife or nurse to handle, extreme difficulties are experienced in properly applying the fitted sheets to a mattress. Various attempts have been made heretofore to solve this problem, including complicated corner seam configurations, resilient devices of various types applied in a special way to the free edges or corners of the sheets, and other special and complicated expediencies. While certain of these attempts have met with some success, the manufacture of the fitted sheets has become extremely more complicated.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a novel fitted sheet of a novel construction which is easy to manufacture and extremely simple in use.

Another object is the provision of a fitted sheet of a novel construction which requires little skill in its manufacture and which permits production of large quantities of sheets having substantially identical characteristics.

A further object is the provision of a fitted sheet of a novel construction which is durable to long and hard wear.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bottom, side, and end portions of a mattress to which a fitted sheet of this invention has been applied; and

FIG. 2 is a plan view in cutaway of one type of blank from which a fitted sheet of this invention can be made.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the novel fitted sheet of this invention comprises a top panel 1, a pair of opposed end panels 2, a pair of opposed side panels 3, and a resiliently extensible member 4. The corner construction of the fitted sheet of this invention is not narrowly critical and can be made in any suitable manner which will permit the side and end panels to fold under the marginal portions of the bottom of the mattress 5. In the particular embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the opposed edges of each end and side panel 2 and 3 are formed in divergent arcs from a common junction for each pair of adjacent side and end portions.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each end panel 2 is formed with a cut-out 6 which is spaced from the opposed edges of said end panel and which is spaced from the top panel 1. The resiliently extensible member 4 is in the form of a triangle having a base 7 and an apex 8. The member 4 is disposed within the cut-out 6 such that base 7 is aligned with the free edge of the end panel 2. The sides of member 4 extending from the base 7 to the apex 8 are sewn or otherwise suitably secured to the panel 2. It is necessary that the member 4 be resiliently extensible in a direction parallel to the base 7. However, it is not critical in attaining the advantage of this invention to have more than one member 4 in a single sheet. Furthermore, the extensible member 4 need not be in an end panel but also can be employed in one or both of the side panels 3. Thus, it is only necessary to have one extensible member 4 in any single sheet and said extensible member can be disposed in any one or more of the side and/or end panelsof the sheet.

In applying the sheet of this invention to a mattress, it is advantageous to employ a sequence of steps wherein one corner of the sheet is first applied to the mattress, thereafter the diagonally opposed corner is applied to the mattress and then the remaining corners are applied in any sequence. Any other method of applying the sheet to the mattress can be employed, although the advantages of the novel sheet of this invention are more fully realized when the above-specified sequence is employed. It will be seen that in applying the corners of the sheet in any sequence, a sufficient give is allowed by the extensible member or members to permit application of remaining corners to their corresponding corners of the mattress.

As pointed out above, only one extensible member 4 is necessary for each sheet. It is advantageous, however, to have two extensible members in opposite side or end panels. When only one extensible member 4 is employed, the operator must apply the corners of the sheet adjacent said single extensible member in the final stages of application of the bed sheet to the mattress in order to obtain full advantage of the novel construction of said bed sheet. However, in the case of a novel bed sheet having two extensible members 4, one in each opposed side or end panel, any corner of said sheet can be applied to the mattress at any stage of the operation.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth in the drawings and specification and although specific terms are employed they are used in an illustrative and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined by the claim.

What is claimed is:

In a fitted mattress cover having a top panel of cloth, a pair of side panels and a pair of end panels, both pairs extending from said top panel and forming a free edge, said end panels, in each instance, having opposed edges secured to adjacent edges of said side panels, the improvement which comprises at least one of said panels having a triangular cut-out intermediate said opposed edges and extending from said free edge thereof and a resiliently extensible triangular insert being extensible only in a direction parallel to said free edge and disposed within said cut-out and secured to said panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,820,104 Whaley Aug. 25, 1931 2,162,755 Shauer June 20, 1939 2,576,207 Belden Nov. 27, 1951 2,624,893 Harris Jan. 13, 1953 2,942,280 May June 28, 1960 

